Noah Feldman: Liberals Like Me Caused Obama's Illegal Drone War

Moi is just the messenger. But maybe, just maybe we are starting to see a hint of responsibility. But I would still like to see more, from our elected representatives, and good ol Obama himself. Americans have been let down by every last one of our elected representatives. Not just with the drones, but in many others aspects also, such as with the NSA. They need to start listening to the people, and the people need to make them start listening,

There will be plenty of blame to go around, yet I can’t escape the gnawing feeling that people like me — legal critics of the George W. Bush administration’s detention policy — bear some moral responsibility for creating incentives for the Obama administration to kill rather than capture. True, we didn’t realize that condemning interrogation practices and quasi- lawless detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would lead a Democratic president to break new ground in unfettered presidential authority. But that’s just the point: We should have seen it coming. And we didn’t.

Then came the drones — and with them a series of legal justifications that arguably went much further than the Bush administration had gone in expanding executive power. One Justice Department memorandum, which has still outrageously not been released to the public, apparently justified the killing of U.S. citizens by drone strikes in part through the argument that due process had been satisfied by internal deliberations within the executive branch.

If the reports are accurate, this amounts to the first time I know of in our tradition since the Magna Carta in 1215 that due process has been deemed satisfied without giving the victim of a government deprivation of life and liberty the opportunity to be heard by a neutral decision-maker.

Noah Feldman, a law professor at Harvard University and the author of “Cool War: The Future of Global Competition,” is a Bloomberg View columnist

Noah Feldman: Liberals Like Me Caused Obama's Illegal Drone War

I suspect it is finally happening, Obama's glass house is finally shattering. This will be a man despised not by just me, Elouina, but by the entire world. Can you feel it in the air folks?

Every American who believes in justice, liberty, freedom, should be ashamed what we have all allowed to happen in our names.

Drone warfare should be a crime, drones should be limited to recon, not executioners so politicians don't have to face the fallout of losing American lives on needles conflicts.

That makes war cheap to wage and more palatable, a concept that should horrify us all.

benrl
Every American who believes in justice, liberty, freedom, should be ashamed what we have all allowed to happen in our names.
Unfortunately, most are in agreement (proud even) of what we have done - of what we have become - otherwise - where are the protesters? Where's the outrage?

Drone warfare should be a crime, drones should be limited to recon, not executioners so politicians don't have to face the fallout of losing American lives on needles conflicts.
Drone warfare IS a crime! A crime that the American people particularly relish. A crime that has spread throughout the entire nation - by the many thousands - all with the tacit approval of the populace that benefits from them.

That makes war cheap to wage and more palatable, a concept that should horrify us all.
That's always been one of the primary goals of the DoD - remember the A-Bomb? They American loved it. I know they did because I was there during the ticker tape celebrations.

reply to post by XionZap

Drone warfare IS a crime! A crime that the American people particularly relish. A crime that has spread throughout the entire nation - by the many thousands - all with the tacit approval of the populace that benefits from them.

Is that how some see the American people? As a bunch of blood lusting monsters, enjoying the death of civilians and fighters alike...like some high tech version of the Roman Arena?

I imagine it would shock people to learn how much of America couldn't identify a Predator from a Roomba. Such is the state of awareness in this nation to much of anything beyond not losing a home, family and basic standard of living.

I'd blame our leaders till I turn blue. Blaming the people themselves for apathy to let this happen in the absence of vigilance is also quite fair. Blaming Americans for enjoying it somehow would assume they even KNOW about it ...or care enough to learn ..which is assuming entirely too much, IMHO.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


And those who are aware weep for their nation, while turning blue in the face trying to get people to wake up.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


In addition to the horrendous use of drones worldwide - I was also addressing the ubiquity of drones and their permitted use throughout the nation, and in every conceivable venue (some yet to be invented) - and not merely by local police forces. America has succumbed to the psychological conditioning (and even helps to create it) necessary for general acceptability of military drones of the kind used to destroy and to kill indiscriminately in 'foreign lands,' and initiated from consoles "in your own hometown." Because of this Americans will soon allow themselves to be treated as a 'foreign land' as well.; and in some cases this has already happened.

BTW - where's the FAA in all of this? The DoD has usurped the authority of the FAA, who normally would NEVER have permitted such broad 'filling of the skies' with such a danger as these present to the general welfare.

I submit to you that the American people, through weakness of self-submission, have welcomed this psychological trick of mental acceptance, and conditioning of the population by the DofD with open arms.

But that’s just the point: We should have seen it coming. And we didn’t.

How does this happen? I know it does happen. Hitler was elected after all. But how does it happen?

Maybe I'm just far more cynical and suspicious than the average human but since the first time somebody I trusted screwed me I knew that it will always be possible that somebody you trust, love, admire or adore will screw me.

Relationships have degrees of intimacy. It makes sense for you to put your guard down and believe that your spouse or your children wont screw you. The relationship cant function unless you do.

The further away you get the higher your level of mistrust should be. Neighbor? You dont really need him and he doesnt need you. He's more likely to be a threat than your spouse is. Your selectman? His business is screwing people. Always has been always will be.

Take that model out to the POTUS and there is essentially no reason to believe he wont screw you. You're nothing to him. Not even a vote. He lives to screw you.

Are party loyalties so high that if the stupid little letter matches your stupid little letter you'll open your home and bring him as he were your spouse?

That's madness.

reply to post by XionZap


How did the DoD usurp the authority of the FAA? I've been here with everyone else to read the stories as they've come for approval of this drone-filled sky, each step of the way. It's been maddening to watch and it won't last like this forever...but for now? I recall FAA clearances for DoD training all over the US, as well as 30,000 (I believe the number was) permitted applications for drone use over the civilian population within America.

Oh.. I sure don't like it ...but this is the least of our issues. Drones don't scare me because we are worlds away from live missile shots to ground targets inside the US. That's Hollywood stuff outside a war here.

Eventually ..and more than one probably...we'll see drone failures kill people. Not just one person or a cop that flies it right into his own people (See a Demo in Texas for how that works out) but a catastrophic failure. We'll see a large and heavy drone crash into a stadium crowd by mechanical failure ...or worse, we'll see one ground hacked and used to deliberately inflict mass damage. That, as likely to come as a "prank" by stupid kids as from anyone with ill intent, IMO.

What is above the drones...is what worries me. A drone has to be launched, flown and recovered. Satellites don't...and they've been up there with the ability to read newspapers from orbit for more years than people have thought to consider them a threat....and more highly advanced ones are going up all the time.

So..focus on drones and the buzzing over our heads for the danger they pose to crash into us ..but the privacy violation at wholesale levels? Ahh... Look miles higher, IMO...then get mad about that.

I always say that if you want to complain, you should also have a remedy for the issue. Never did our forefathers realize that the US would become a bully. And if so, they would have written the constitution to include wording that covers everyone in the world.

So I bring to everyone here the premise that one sentence should be added to our constitution. That all people in all countries should be afforded the luxury of being treated by the US with the same respect and rights of its citizens.

There is one aspect that worries me though, and this is having our present government tampering with the constitution. Instead of one sentence we could end up with an entire page.